Travelweekly

 I used to dismiss 48-hour trips as not worth the effort. All that packing, airport faff, and jet lag-adjacent exhaustion for barely two nights somewhere new. It felt inefficient. But then I realised something uncomfortable: I was waiting for “proper” holidays that rarely arrived. So I started taking the small ones. Micro-trips aren’t about seeing everything. They’re about changing your surroundings just enough to reset your brain. Two days can feel surprisingly long if you stop trying to make them compete with a week. The mistake most people make is overloading those 48 hours. Three museums. A food list. A neighbourhood crawl. You end up sprinting between experiences, barely absorbing any of them. I’ve done that. It’s exhausting. Now I build around one anchor. One thing I genuinely want to see or do. Everything else is padding — cafés, walks, wandering without agenda. If the main plan falls through, the trip doesn’t collapse. It just shifts. Logistics matter more on shor...

  One of those cities that appear to be too smooth at first sight is Vienna. Great palaces, fancy cafes, music in the streets in the classical style--it is as though you were in a postcard.   However, any weekend trip to Vienna demands some form of selectiveness. There are things that one cannot forget. Others? Beautiful, and, however, can be skipped when you want to hurry up.   It is my plain, straightforward, no-hurry guide to what is worth your time--and what you can safely recommend. What to See   Begin with the historic centre. The inner city of Vienna is small, easy to walk through, and full of architectural drama. St. Stephen's Cathedral is impeccable. Enter the building, and stare up at the size and quietness.   And even when you are not, as you usually are, a cathedral person, this one is worth your time.   It is worth going to Schonbrunn Palace; however, do it smart. The palace is not bad, but it is the gardens that are the true deligh...